It had been a long time.   I moved away from the valley for work and built a career and a family.  My time for digging was limited.  So my collection grew from buying and trading.   But nothing can replace the thrill of the treasure hunt and seeing hundred year old artifacts becoming uncovered.
Ivan finally dragged me out again.  But wait....you get all dirty and dusty and get cuts and scratches.  Plus, digging requires parts of me that have not been used in awhile.......off we went...
I have watched Ivan work before. He has a second sense,  He doesn't miss a  detail and when the probe comes out, it is almost always  successful.   This time we were driving to a place he had already located.  It was an old railroad stop.  One that has probably been picked over for many years.  And yet my friend Ivan found a "layer".   
The layer was less than a foot deep with about 6 inches of top soil on it.  So we started.  Mostly ash and bones.  But out fell a ginger
beer.   Our first item!  Visions of many bottles yet to come danced in our heads.  We also found many broken dishes.  It was apparent that
this was a restaurant or eating establishment of some sort.  It was also apparent that this was a very old layer.  The broken pieces were
1870's.  For Utah, it was remarkably old.  Each piece had to be examined.   
Next it was a small extract bottle. 
This added to the belief that there was cooking going on here.  But it became clear that the bottles would be few and far between. 
But while there is a layer, every digger MUST follow it .  Each piece of glass was so old, that it kept our interest.  

Next came a Pierces. Common except for the sloppy fused top.  It was much older than anything I had dug in the valley. 
Our layer was diminishing but it sank deeper on the other side, so moving over we started on the next part of the layer.  Dusty
digging but a perfect fall day.  
A top peaks out.  Looks like a sauce. Probably a common Lea and Perrins.  But a nice old one. 
Slowly we uncover it hoping it's not just a part of one.  Slowly it emerges and..... Surprise!  
No such luck.  A very old champaign.
Lots of rust now.  One more crock peaks out.  This one is sitting atop a very old shovel.  A nice  English master ink.  Also a great railroad car pin.
It was now into the afternoon.  Constant digging.  As I said,
It had been a long time. 
When the layer ran out, I stopped for a bit and found that I was unable to lift my arms up above my waist! I hurt all over.  
It's a different sauce and a US one, not an import! 
It's wonderfully old!
Continuing this layer was going a bit deeper.  Much more interesting.  Still many bones and plates. 
Right on the mud, could it be a nice black glass?   
All  in all, not may bottles but the ones we got were much
older that anything I had ever found and the other artifacts and
pieces found along the way made it a rich experience.  I wasn't sure if I would ever recover.  This became the start of a multi-year association with my friend Ivan.   I will share more of our adventures.